Ryan Van Velzer

Writer

Ryan Van Velzer is the Delray Beach city reporter for the Sun Sentinel. Hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, Ryan has covered state politics for the Associated Press and general assignment news for The Arizona Republic. Previously, Ryan worked as a travel reporter in Central America and Southeast Asia.

Recent Articles

A 16-year-old boy was arrested Thursday after turning himself into police for stealing an assault rifle, ammunition and other gear from an Opa-locka police car in a Pembroke Pines neighborhood. The teen, who the South Florida Sun Sentinel has not named because of his age, was caught on surveillance...

The wheels actually came off the bus Thursday, causing a five-vehicle accident and two minor injuries that backed up traffic for miles during the morning commute. Two rear wheels flew off a Palm Tran bus causing the driver to lose control as it traveled northbound on Interstate 95 near Woolbright...

Attorneys for a former Florida Atlantic University professor who is suing to get his job back say he was fired while he was still trying to clarify what college officials wanted him to do. They say FAU officials fired James Tracy in January 2016 in thinly veiled retaliation for his constitutionally...

A Delray Beach soup kitchen is on the rebound serving meals seven days a week at congregations across the city after closing its dining room in October. For 20 years, the Caring Kitchen served hot meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner at 196 NW Eighth Ave. But the city decided the kitchen needed...

A security guard appears to have been shot by his partner at the Hollywood Water Treatment plant Sunday morning, authorities allege. Police received the call just after 7 a.m. Sunday morning and arrived on scene to find a male security guard lying on the ground with a gunshot wound, said Officer...

Under billowy clouds as a cool breeze blew, about 100 people gathered to honor those who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor. A ceremony Sunday at the Coast Guard station at Port Everglades commemorated the 76th anniversary of the surprise attack that killed thousands of sailors during World War...

Kratom is an herb from Southeast Asia related to the coffee family. For centuries, people have used the kratom plant as a traditional medicine for energy, alertness and pain relief. It’s typically either chewed or dried, ground and ingested in capsule, smoked or served as tea. The key psychoactive...

The Drug Enforcement Agency is once again considering a ban on kratom, a popular herbal supplement served in South Florida kava bars and touted as an alternative to opiates. Step to the bar top at Nakava Bar in Boca Raton and you won’t find a sip of alcohol on the menu. Instead, you’ll find colorful...